Conveyer



March 31. 1925. 1,531,711

EJH. MARSH, JR

CONVEYER Filed May 16. 1924 I N VEN TOR.

' BY V TORNEY.

Patented Mar. 31, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD H. MARSH, JR, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MAssAenUsETTs, ASSIGNOR To THE FISKRUBBER COMPANY, or cnIcorEE ,FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

4 CONVEYER.

Application filed May 16, 1924. Serial No. 713,669.

To allrz hom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD H. MARSH, Jr., a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and Stateof Massachusetts, have invented certain new-and useful Improvements ina'Conveyer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveying systems and has for its object theprevention of jamming when articles from a branch conveyer are mingledwith a stream of articles on a main conveyer at substantially rightangles thereto.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view showing a conveyer system, constructedaccording tomy invention, for handling tire eas-.

ings;

Fig. 2 is a section thereof on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and p Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 1 showing the parts in a different operativeposition. In the embodiment shown the apparatus is designed for handlinautomobile tire casings, as, for example, In a conveyer system fordelivering such casings to storageafter they have been inspected. Twoconveyers, a main conveyer 10 and a-branch conveyer 11, are shown, eachbeing formed of a wide belt running around pulleys 12 and supported atintermediate points by rollers 13 carried by a framework 1 1. Theparticular construction and operation of these conveyers forms no partof the present invention except that the tires must be free to slip onthe conveyor surface. The conveyer 10 carries a stream of articles agoing in the direction of the arrow 15 in Figs. 1 and 3. These articlesare somewhat spaced on the conveyer. The conveyer 11 feeds a secondstream of articles 7) into the stream.

of articles on the conveyer 10 so that thereafter the two streams aremerged upon the continuation of the main conveyer 10. It

is designed to attend to the feeding of the articles ;from the branchconveyer or the .articles from the main conveyer past the point ofintersection, without permitting any-jamming.

In accomplishing this purpose I have provided a swinging gate 16 pivotednear the point of intersection of the two conveyers at 17 and extendingat 18 so as to block either conveyer. The gate is preferablycounterweighted at 19 and is mounted so as to swing freely in responseto contact with the tires on either of the conveyers 10 or 11. A series.of anti-friction rollers 20 is preferably mounted in the portion of thegate which extends across the conveyers, and similar series ofanti-friction rollers 21 and 22 are placed respectively at the side ofthe conveyer 10 opposite conveyer 11 and at what may be called thedown-stream point of intersection of the two conveyers. may be replacedif desired by a single roller of larger diameter placed nearer theactual intersection. These anti-friction rollers are mounted in suitableframes 23 in a manner which can be varied to suit individualrequirements and therefore need not be described in detail. In order toextend the driving power of conveyer 11 close to the side of conveyer 10a roller 24 is preferably driven by a sprocket and chain arrangement 25from the shaft of the adjacent pulley 12, this roller 24 being placed,as shown in Fig. 2, between the conveyer 10 and the polnt where conveyer11 passes around the pulley.

The action of the device may be described with reference to Figs. 1 and3. Fig. 1 shows the gate in a position to extend across conveyer 10. Itshould be understood that a similar although reverse operation of thedevice will occur if the gate happens to be positioned across conveyer11. A tire (L is shown just contacting with the anti-friction rollers onthe gate. Due to the free pivotal mounting of the gate, and thefrictional re sistance between the article and the conveyer on which itis supported, a swinging motion will be imparted to the gate causing itto rotate in the direction of the arrow 26. A tire b is also shown asentering upon conveyer 10 from conveyer 11. If no gate were providedthis tire might interfere with the tire a and cause a jam. As the movinggate The rollers 22 gate the friction of the conveyer 11 passing therollers 21 and will be carried past the point. of intersection of thetwo conveyers,

the tire I) being held against forward move-- ment by the gate durmgthismotion. As soon as the tire a has passed the end ofthe' "under tire bwill cause the latter to move 'eral it may ahead, carrying the gateahead of it and iving to the gate a sufiicient momentum to Elock forwardmotion of the tire a which has been shown as following tire a onconveyer 10. 1 p v p a he gate will function as described in whateverposition it may be found by tires coming along the two conveyers. Ingenbe said that the tire first to contact wit the gate will therebyimpart to it suflicient momentum to drive back a tire on the otherconveyer, but it ma well be that the gate might be contracte multaneouslby tires a and b in a position shown in ig. 3. In this case jamming-.would' be prevented owing to the tire a being held etween theanti-friction rollers 21 and rollers 20, this holding the ate in aposition toblock conveyer 10 an permit a tire a tobe driven ahead by theunderlying conveyer 10.. In case tires on the two conveyers cometogether so as to stop the gate at an an le of 45 across the mainconveyer,it may e that they will both be halted temporarily.- Thiscondition of rest will be disturbed however, when a succeeding tirecomes down one of the conveyers, the impact of this'tirewitli one of theothers start- 111g this latter tire by the gate, and normal operationwill be again resumed, By whatwith si-' ever particular action the gateworks it will be found that, as long as spaces are left be each adaptedto carry a succession of articles v upon its surface the two streams ofarticles merging at the unction of the conveyors; a device forpreventing jamming of the artlcles at the junction, comprising a movablemember adapted tocontact with the articles on either conveyer, toreceive motion therefrom, and by the momentum thus acquired to preventtemporarily forward motion of an article on the other conveyer.

2. In a conveying apparatus wherein a main conveyer and a branchconveyer are 4 each adapted to carry a succession of articles upon itssurfaces, the two streams of articles vmerging atthe junction of theconveyers, a

device for preventing jamming of the articles at the junction,'comprismga swinging'gate pivoted near the point of intersection of the conveyersand ada ted to block either conveyer, the gate ing heavy enough toacquire sufiicient momentum from contact'with an article on one conveyerto prevent temporarily forward movement of, an article on the otherconveyer.

EDWARD H. MARSH, J13;

